A conventional method of improving the resolution of an electronic imaging system incorporating a solid-state image sensor is to move the image with respect to the sensor between successive exposure or image capture operations to capture an additional field of image information. U.S. Pat. No. 4,755,876 issued to Dangler, for example, discloses a image scanner system which employs "X" and "Y" deflector plates driven by DC motors to move an image over a low resolution image sensor to effectively fill gaps in image coverage between photosites. The system disclosed in Dangler, however, is bulky and not well suited for use in compact imaging systems such as hand-held electronic cameras.
Other, more compact, systems employ the use of piezoelectric devices to physically move the image sensor during exposure operations. U.S. Pat. No. 4,947,239 issued to Kondou et al. discloses a swing-driven solid-state imaging device mounted on a piezoelectric element which vibrates the sensor in order to move the imaging device to different sampling positions at different points of time in one frame period. The image information gathered at the different sampling positions is combined to form one complete image frame. The system employed by Kondou et al. is limited to providing motion in a single direction. Still another example of a piezoelectric swing-driven image sensor is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,634,884 issued to Hayashimoto et al.
Piezoelectric devices do provide a compact drive mechanism as demonstrated by the structure disclosed in the above-noted references, but piezoelectric drive elements are also expensive and therefore are not commercially suitable in situations where the expense of the system is a critical factor to the systems commercial viability. A need therefore exists within the field of electronic imaging for an apparatus that provides image sensor movement, preferably in two directions, to improve resolution utilizing a compact structure which can be easily and inexpensively manufactured. In view of the above, it is an object of the invention to provide a driving apparatus for an image sensor that is durable, inexpensive and easily manufactured. It is further object of the invention to provide a driving apparatus that is capable of moving the image sensor in two dimensions.